Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt warned on Monday that this year’s budget planning effort could result in a slightly higher tax rate. Eckhardt made the revelation during a special press conference in downtown Austin. The quarterly update on county business was the second of its kind this year. “We anticipate that there will be some […]
Judge Sarah Eckhardt
Eckhardt was elected Travis County Judge in November 2014, after previously serving as the Precinct 2 County Commissioner.
Posted inTravis County
Eckhardt delivers state of the county speech
More than 100 people gathered at a Northeast Austin hotel on Wednesday night to hear Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt declare that the state of the county is strong. Eckhardt established her case for that assessment in a punchy, pithy and often unsparingly earnest speech presented by the Austin Area League of Women Voters. The […]
Posted inTravis County
Eckhardt issues public challenge on transit, affordability, justice reform
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt on Monday challenged the public to get involved and help achieve a broad set of policy goals in 2016. In her first press conference of the year, Eckhardt stood before a line of cameras and reporters and laid out a tripartite agenda that focused on transit, economic prosperity and a […]
Posted inElections
Travis County voters reject civil courthouse bonds
It was a tight match all night long, but in the end, Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond fell with a stiff punch in the gut. After several tense hours that at one extended point saw support for the bond proposal holding a tenuous but growing lead, the final, unofficial count […]
Posted inTransportation
Special Report: Manor, planning for the future
Today, the Austin Monitor, KUT and KLRU present a collaboration that examines the impact of our region’s growth on Manor, Texas: Austin’s Eastern Frontier. We invite you to explore that series and offer you this piece on transportation planning efforts in the area as a bonus. While there is no way to predict the future of […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Penalty cards and petitions
Eckhardt deals a new hand from a new deck… Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt introduced last week a new method for dealing with citizens whose comments during public communications might stray outside of the Travis County Commissioner Court’s wheelhouse. Perhaps with the stunning arrests of FIFA’s top executives fresh in her mind during Tuesday’s regular voting […]
Posted inTravis County
Eckhardt marks her first 100 days in office
Today marks Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt’s 100th day in office. Eckhardt got a jump on the celebration Thursday, holding a news conference to commemorate the occasion. She looked back over the past 100 days as well as forward, toward issues that the Travis County Commissioners Court will be taking on in the near future. After […]
Posted inMonitor News & Media, Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Travis County Civil and Family Courthouse and other development plans
Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard interviews Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and Travis County Strategic Planning Manager Belinda Powell about the County’s proposed downtown Courthouse plan, as well as other County-managed real estate interests. Sponsored by Kerbey Lane Cafe. Show embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/199126394″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
County, state candidates continue to push for property tax reform
Local governments need to look at their non-taxed property and sell it back into private hands if it is underused, according to Sarah Eckhardt, Democratic candidate for Travis County Judge. Eckhardt told a property tax town hall audience Friday that this would put money back into local government coffers through both the sale of property […]